


To the End of the Line and Back

by NightmareSparklePony



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 09:59:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18635857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightmareSparklePony/pseuds/NightmareSparklePony
Summary: Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers! Do not read if you have not seen Endgame.An explanation of what happened at the end of Endgame. Not a fix it.





	To the End of the Line and Back

**Author's Note:**

> I think we all knew the MCU was not going to let Steve and Bucky walk into the sunset together. There are a lot of people saying that Steve going off to be with Peggy would be OOC and a slap in the face to Bucky. I believe the Russo brothers completed Steve and Bucky's friendship arc in the three Captain America movies. Every meaningful interaction between the now takes place off screen because their friendship is no longer the focus of the movies.  
> Bucky does not seem to be surprised when Steve does not return to the platform and leads Sam to Old Steve as if he was expecting him. Also, he's not upset that Steve gave the shield to Sam. I'm thinking there was an off-screen conversation where Bucky encouraged Steve to go back and not change anything, including all that Hydra put him through, for a very important reason. Also, in my head-cannon, Bucky calls Nat Natalia because that is how he knew her.
> 
> This story is a little rough since I wanted to get my thoughts on the page. Also, I have not read any Endgame fanfic so any similarities to other works are purely coincidental.

Bucky lingers by the dessert table, trying to remain inconspicuous. He feels uncomfortable being at Tony Stark's funeral, mingling with family and friends when he was the person who had taken the life of that sweet little girl's grandparents. Of course, Ms. Potts had been gracious, insisting that all were welcomed and that in light of the consequences of Thanos' invasion, very little of what happened in the past was of consequence.

The battles, both of them, were little more than a blur. He remembered falling and once again thinking he was dead. The next thing he knew, he was back in Wakanda and a Magician was deploying them back into battle. They were back into the fray again and he only had time to get a glimpse of Steve fighting Thanos. 

When Tony gave his life as a last ditched effort to save the universe from total destruction all focus rightfully went to him. Bucky thought he would see her there, by his side with the rest of the Avengers and when she was not, he grabbed Scott and asked, “Natalia, where...where is she?”

Even before Scott responded, Bucky knew the answer. “Sorry. Nat didn't make it.” He felt his heart clench and he almost wished he had not been returned once again from the dead. Eventually, he'd learned the details of Natalia's heroic sacrifice and hoped she finally believed, in the end, she had erased the red from her ledger.   

A firm hand clasps him from behind. “Hey, Buck. How're you doing?” Steve asks.

“Not bad for...” he tries before giving up and hugging Steve for an embarrassingly long time. “Shit, that was messed up.”

“You don't know the half of it, pal,” Steve says with a grin. “I'm glad you're back.”

“Me, too. It really didn't seem like I was gone for very long though. Sort of like coming out of cryofreeze,” Bucky explains. He knew people were having trouble with the five-year time jump, but for him, it was business as usual.

“I need to show you something. In private,” Steve says as he motions toward the porch. “You know I'm going out to return the stones to their original timelines.”

“Yeah. Right after the funeral?”

Steve pulls a photograph out of his pocket. “I need to show you this before I go. It was on Peggy's desk in 1970 when we stole the tesseract.”

Bucky looks at the couple in the wedding photograph in his hand. “That's Peggy and...you, Steve. How?” The man has a beard and glasses, but Bucky wasn't fooled at all by the disguise.

“I don't know,” he replies shaking his head. “It's crazy. Right?”

“Not if you don't come back after your mission is complete,” Bucky says thoughtfully.

“But I couldn't. I mean, how could I?” Steve says in a whisper.

Bucky waves the photo and responds, “Evidently you did.”

Steve adamantly shakes his head. “No. How could I live my life with Peggy knowing you were alive, knowing Zola was brainwashing you, knowing you were being tortured?”

“You did it because I'm telling you to,” Bucky replies calmly. “You deserve to rest. You deserve to be happy.”

“At what cost, Bucky. God, I let you kill Tony's parents. If I did that I don't deserve shit and especially don't deserve Margaret Carter.” Steve sits down on the steps and peers out over the lake.

Bucky sits down beside him. “Steve, Don't you see Tony's parents had to die? It all had to play out exactly like it did in order to defeat Thanos.” He hands back the photo.

“You're not angry? I could have gotten you out years ago. Maybe not right away but, I don't know, in the '90s.” Bucky knows Steve means after the Starks have been killed.

“No.” He shakes his head. “When I was with the Russians, I was sent to train in the Red Room.” Steve looks at him sharply. “There was a young woman there. She was fierce. She was ruthless. But underneath all the training and indoctrination she never lost her heart.”

“Natasha,” Steve whispers.

“She was Natalia back then. To me. They sent us out on missions and somehow she was able to break her way through the brainwashing,” Bucky says with a grin.

Steve laughs. “You always did have a thing for red-heads, Buck.”

“We thought we were being careful but of course they found out. I remember her screams when I was mind wiped in front of her. At least that was enough to get her to question the Red Room and consider other opportunities when presented to her.”

“Jeez, Buck. I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell me?” Steve asks, sadly.

“I only just remembered in Wakanda and by then I thought she was with you,” Bucky replies with a shrug. “Besides, a girl's not likely to forgive you for shooting her once, let alone twice.”

“Nat wasn't like other girls.”

“No she was not,” Bucky replies sadly. “Steve, you ever know me to miss a headshot?” Steve shakes his head. “And The Winter Soldier never missed, never left a witness. I must have known her, deep down, for her to walk away twice with only a flesh wound.”

“What are you saying, Buck?”

“If you pull me out early, Nat may not find a reason to leave the Red Room.”

Steve puts his arm around Bucky's shoulder and says sadly, “And you'll never meet the love of your life.” Bucky doesn't know about that. But he does know that whatever he and Natalia had, he wouldn't trade it for anything.

“At least one of us should get the girl,” Bucky says as he stands and offers Steve his hand. “But who'd have ever thought it would be you, Rogers.”

They laugh and return to join the party celebrating Tony's life. Bucky didn't quite know what would happen when Steve left with the stones and was determined to make the most of this night. For all he knew they had finally come to the end of the line. If it was, it was OK. He would miss Steve but knowing he had a full, rewarding life was enough. And he had friends in Shuri, T'challah, Okoyo and even a “frenemy” in Sam. They would all need his assistance with the adjustment to the time jump and who better to help than a man whose life experience consisted of skipping through time. Yes, Bucky would miss Steve but he would be fine. He just wished Natalia could be here too.

***

A Little Bit Later

Bucky was not surprised when five seconds passed and Steve did not appear on the platform. Earlier he had noticed an elderly man arrive at the lake, but with all the activity had not taken in his features, figuring he was a relative of Peppers coming to pay his respects. Now when he turns and sees the man on the bench, even from behind, he knows it is Steve. Bucky hadn't even had time to miss him.

Sam is shocked and doesn't notice Bucky is not a bit surprised. Bucky watches as Steve hands the shield over to Sam, without a hint of envy. Truth be told, he is tired of the fight and knows, with his past, does not deserve the mantle of Captain America. Sam sits down beside Steve and from the looks on their faces, the conversation is serious. At one point Sam looks shocked at what he is being told.

Once Sam leaves, he sits down beside Steve on the bench. “You look pretty good for what...105?”

“It's the serum. And actually, it's only a hundred. I was one of The Vanished.”

“Dang, so I'm still older than you,” Bucky says with a laugh.

Steve turns to him and says in tone parents use on their children, “I want you to know, Buck, that I didn't give the shield to Sam because I thought you didn't deserve it.”

“I know,” Bucky replies, slightly embarrassed.

“I have another mission for you. Remember how I was going to go back and return all the stones to their rightful places in time?”

“Steve, that was literally less than five minutes ago.”

“Right,” Steve says shaking his head. “Memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Well, I returned all the stones immediately after we took them. It's as if they never left the timeline.”

“That's great, Steve. Then you went back to 1945 and met up with Peggy?”

“No, No. Peggy had important work to accomplish and I couldn't stand in her way. But I found her a couple of years later. Just in time, it turns out. She was about ready to marry another fellow.”

“So you stole some other guy's gal? That doesn't sound like you, Steve.” Bucky says, puzzled. He hadn't been sure how Steve was going to hide his identity for all those years.

“Oh, It all worked out. Real nice fellow. He went back to his girl, the one he was meant to be with, and we all became close friends,” Steve says with a smile.

“It must have been hard keeping your identity a secret. How'd you manage to pull that off?” Bucky asks.

“Peggy created a new identity for me. Steven Riley. A soldier who had war injuries serious enough that I was somewhat of a recluse. Fortunately, not too much went on in the fifties but there were times, especially when you were making trouble in the sixties and seventies, that she urged me to help. To bring Captain America out of retirement.” Steve gets a faraway look. “That was one of the few times I felt she was disappointed in me. If she only knew. Peggy would have divorced me and gone after you herself if she'd ever found out you were the Winter Soldier.”

“Oh, I don't doubt that a bit,” Bucky says with a smile picturing Peggy busting into the Siberia base, guns a blazing. So you never told her about the time travel? That would have made things easier and, after all the stuff we saw in Germany, it wouldn't have been a hard sell.” Bucky asks. “What about when she was in the hospital and you visited her?”

“I couldn't risk the timeline and I knew by the time I was found, she would be suffering from advanced Alzheimer's and it wouldn't matter,” Steve says sadly. “One moment she would be talking to me about missing my life and then talk to me about our grandchildren when I came back in the room. She was never truly lucid with me on that timeline.”

“I'm sorry. That must have been tough to go through again,” Bucky replies. “God, Steve. You lost her twice.”

“I've lost you more times than that, Buck,” Steve says smiling. “But that's what life is. You can't appreciate the joy without the sorrow. I've lost my wife, a grandson, and will most likely out-live most of my children but, my God, it was worth it. Life is worth it and when it gets tough you all get through it...together. Which brings me to your mission.”

“Anything, Steve,” Bucky says. “I owe you for saving my life..what...three, no four, times now.”

Steve shakes his head. “I owe you my entire life. If you hadn't urged me to go back and be with Peggy, I wouldn't have my children, grandchildren, and even a new great-grandson.”

“Congratulations, Steve,” Bucky replies and grasps Steve on the shoulder. He notices Steve wince and remembers that, even with the serum, he is an old man and he'd have to treat him more gently. Like when they were back in Brooklyn and Steve was a scrawny little punk. He feels the muscles are still firm beneath the jacket and revises his opinion. He would treat him like he would Sam, instead. “Hey, did any of your kids or grandkids turn out like you, because of the serum?”

“Peggy and I never wanted to know. Some may have been more physically gifted than others, but we never had any of them tested. Maybe that was a mistake, but we just didn't want to risk the test results getting in the wrong hands.”

Bucky nods his head in agreement. He had the first-hand experience on what happens when a person is found to have been given the super soldier serum. The Winter Soldier may very well have been ordered to kidnap one of Steve kids if that information had come out. “Now tell me. What is my mission?”

“To get a life,” Steve says, raising his hand to stop Bucky when he opens his mouth to protest. “I know, I know. You think after all the things you've done you don't deserve to be happy. You know you're just like, Nat. Both of you think you've done so many bad things, so much damage, that you'll never deserve anything good.” Bucky realizes Steve is referring to Natalia in the present instead of the past tense. He feels a stirring of hope in his chest. “But Buck, you did so much good, saved so many lives, mine included, during the war that more than out-weighed what The Winter Soldier did. There has never been a debt for you to erase.”

“And Nat. She saved the world,” Bucky whispers. “More than once. Does that mean it worked? That returning the soul stone brought Natalia back?”

“I never told you about that,” Steve says. “I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. Especially Clint.“

"Your first mistake was asking Scott for an extra chrono-tracker plus you've never been a good liar. Sam and I figured you'd return the soul stone first. I guess I owe him a dollar,” Bucky says with a grin.

“A dollar bet on something you had inside information on? Buck, you always were a cheap bastard.”

“Hey, I grew up during the Depression. What do you expect?” Bucky laughs. He then asks in a serious tone, “If it worked, then where is she? I figured she'd be back on the platform in your place, then when she didn't appear...”

Steve shakes his head, “I fully expected her to be here too. I wanted to be here to see the look on your face when you saw her.”

“Then what happened? Is she stuck in a time vortex?” Bucky asks, fighting the panic.

Steve shakes his head. “No, I gave her the new tracker, set to it to today. I watched her press the button and disappear. Then I made seven more jumps and didn't see a trace of her in the vortex.”

“Seven?” Bucky was sure they only discussed six jumps. The one to Vormir, then to Morag, Asgard, and New Jersey then finally on to New York to return the remaining two stones before returning “home”.

“Had to make a side trip to retrieve that out of the Potomac, “ Steve replies, nodding towards the shield in Sam's hand. “It's a duplicate. The original always stayed at Avenger's headquarters.”

“Then where is she?” Bucky says, worried that Natasha is trapped inside the Quantum Realm. If she is he'd need help from Scott and the Pyms to rescue her.

Steve pulls a map out of his pocket. “There are several locations she could where she could have come out. The Pyms turned on a Quantum tunnel at their labs as a backup. Then here. At Avenger's headquarters.”

“Steve, that platform is under thirty feet of rubble. No way it's still functional. So San Francisco, then,” Bucky says, pointing to the map.

“Might take her a while to get here.”

“Buck, she was confused when she left Vormir. She had no memory of who she was other than her name and I had to tell her that. You need to go find her.”

Bucky draws in a deep breath. He was all too familiar with navigating the world with no memories. “Then I better get started.” He stands as Steve rises from the bench. “You'll be around when I get back?”

Steve laughs. “Don't worry. This isn't the end of the line yet. I have at least twenty, maybe thirty more good years left in me.” They walk over to join Sam. “I do expect you boys over for Sunday dinner now and then. When you're not too busy saving the world.”

“I was hoping we were done with that, Cap,” Sam says with a laugh.

Steve grasps each of them on the shoulder. Bucky notices that his grip is still strong enough to make Sam wince. “I doubt it. But I have trust in the two of you. You just need to trust in each other.” A black town car pulls into the driveway. “There's my ride. I'll see you boys later.”

“You're not going to go say hello to everyone. Let them know what's happened,” Sam asks.

“No. Today is to celebrate Tony,” he replies. “Sam, let them know what happened and that I'll talk to them later. And you have the information for your mission?”

“I won't let you down, Cap. I'll find out what happened to your grandson,” Sam says seriously. “God. If I'd known there was even a chance Riley could have made it out of there, I'd never left until I found him.”

“Don't be hard on yourself, Sam,” Steve says looking at Bucky. “You had even less reason to suspect that he would be able to survive than I did. Zola's equipment was staring me right in the face.”

“Like you said, Steve. Don't be so hard on yourself,” Bucky says with a smile. “Sam. Good luck. When you get back, I'll show you how to use that thing.”

“What? You're not coming with...” Sam replies. “I could really use some back-up in Afghanistan.”

“Bucky has a different mission, Sam.”

“Nat?” Sam asks. Bucky nods. “Well good luck then.” He walks a few steps and says, “And you owe me a dollar.”

“Sam. Take Wanda. She'll be great on this mission,” Steve says as the new Captain America walks toward the house.

“Are you playing cupid for them too, Steve?” Bucky asks, shaking his head.

“No. Wanda needs a distraction after what happened to Vision. Being out in the field will be good for her. What I'm doing Buck is giving you a head start.” Bucky's confused. Why should he need a head start on his search for Natalia? “I wasn't seeing Nat, but I'm sure something was going on between her and Sam.”

Bucky shakes his head. “Then maybe he should go after her and I'll look for your grandson. She deserves a better man than me. Like Sam.”

Steve looks him straight in the eyes and says, “What Nat needs, what we all need is to find someone who can understand our life experiences. Sam can't do that. You are the only one who can understand what she did to survive the Red Room.”

“And she can understand what I did to survive Hydra,” Bucky whispers, more determined than ever to help Natalia. Even if they were not destined to be more than friends, he would help her.

Bucky walks to the car with Steve. “See you around, punk,” he says as he grabs Steve in a hug. They had said good-byes only minutes ago for him, but for Steve, it had been over half a century.

“Right back at you, jerk,” Steve replies in his ear.

Steve gets into the back of the car as Bucky throws his leg over his bike. “What? Wait? No helmet, Buck!”

“Whatever, Dad!”

“More like Grand Pa. You need to be careful now. Nat's depending on you,” Steve says as he closes the car door. “Now go get your girl!”

Buck gives Steve a salute, starts his bike, and heads west on the highway. He notices Steve's car turns the opposite direction towards the city. Back to Brooklyn if he had to guess, most likely enjoying living right under everyone's noses, including his own.

***  
At Almost the Exact Same Time

She had been at peace. No worries. No troubles. No Regrets. It had been beautiful. In blinding flash of orange light, it was over and she was gasping for air, heart pumping out of her chest.

“Nat,” a man's voice said. “Nat. You're ok. It's Ok.”

When he grabbed her by the arm to help her, she spun away. “Who the hell is Nat?” she spat.

The man took a step back, with a look of sorrow in his blue eyes. He was tall, muscular without being too bulky. He was wearing light gray armor, which causes an alarm to ring in her brain.

“Who are you? Where am I?” she yells.

“I'm Steve. Your friend,” he replies in a calm low voice. “I've come to bring you home.”

“Home,” she scoffs. “I have no home.” She looks around wildly, taking in her surroundings. The sky is a yellow hue. She is standing in water.

“Your name is Natasha Romanov. Your family is waiting for you.” The man approaches and holds out his hand. It's a strange looking bracelet. “This will get you home. Here let me help you.” She jumps when he presses a button and the strange armor surrounds her.

“What is this?” She asks as he presses the instrument into her hand.

“It will take too long to explain,” says the man. “When you're ready, press the button.”

“What will it do? Where will I go?” This is crazy she thinks. It must be a dream.

“It will take you home,” he says calmly. “Your friends will be there to greet you. And I'll be right behind you.”

Knowing she couldn't stay here. Not with him. Maybe he'd leave her in peace once she did as he asked. She presses the button and immediately regrets it. The lights and motion are terrifying. Right away she knows that, even if she didn't know her own name, she doesn't like being out of control.

Once the ride is over, she is thrown against a metal wall. She panics as she realized she's in a cage. That she has been captured. The man was not her friend, but someone hunting her. For who? She doesn't remember, but she feels that it could be any number of organizations.

To steady herself, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens them, she sees that she is not in a cage but inside a vehicle. A van. Carefully, she opens the door and steps outside. As far as the eye can see, there is nothing but rubble. Her heart races at the realization that she's escaped one rather peaceful location to a world that is at war.

“Oh, hey,” a man's voice says from behind her. “Scott didn't say anyone would be in the van when I picked it up.”

“Scott?” She asks the man. He is shorter than the previous man, with darker skin and hair.

“Yeah. Scott Lang. The Ant Man,” he answers quickly. “He's the one responsible for this. He's the hero who brought us all back.”

If this Scott Lang, this Ant Man, had caused all this destruction, she did not want to be here when he came back. And the other man, Steve, had said he'd be right behind her. She needed to move. She needed to escape before either of them could come for her.

“Hey. Aren't you one of those Avenger ladies?” the man asks.

“Avengers. Who are the Avengers?”

“You see. There was this guy. Yeah. Nick Fury. And he had an idea to bring together some remarkable, badass people. You know like Iron Man...Thor...Captain America...including my man, Scott...”

She decides this man is insane, and therefore unpredictable and dangerous. That was one thing she did know. So as the man continued his rant she turned tail and ran across the rubble until she found cover. She needed a plan. She needed to find out who she was, where she came from. The man had called her Nat. Natasha Romanov. Said he was sending her home. But if this was home, she wanted no part of it.

***

A Long, Long Time Later

“I'll see if he's awake,” Sam says to the visitor outside the room. “Grandpa, there's someone here to see you.”

Bucky stirs and tries in vain to straighten himself in the bed. There had been so many visitors, so many good-byes. He was so tired and knew he should just let go, but something was holding him back.

“Buck?” a man's voice asks.

He opens his eyes to Steve, standing over him. “Steve? You're big. And young. What happened to you?”

Steve takes his hand in both of his. “Time travel. Remember Buck.”

“Like it was yesterday,” Bucky replies with a soft smile. He hadn't expected to see Steve again. He'd hoped that somehow, someway Steve would be with him at the end but figured that was just the foolish, sentimentality of an old man.

“It was just yesterday for me,” Steve says as he looks around the room. Bucky notices his eyes land on the picture of Natalia beside the bed.

“So, you found her. I'm so happy for you, Buck.”

“She didn't make it easy. But you'll find out. You were best man at our wedding,” Bucky says smiling, remembering that day on the lake. How beautiful his bride was...little Morgan was so cute in her flower girl dress.

“You probably shouldn't be telling me this. It may be your past, but it's my future. What if I mess it up.” Bucky takes a deep breath. It is getting so hard to keep his eyes open. “You won't. You didn't.”

He suddenly becomes alert and startling Steve. “Buck. You okay? Do you need anything?”

“The Potomac my ass,” he says with a grin. “I guess you finally did learn to lie. Took you long enough.”

“What are you talking about Bucky?”

Bucky nods his head over to the corner of the room. Steve follows his line of sight to see the vibranium shield in a stand. “How? Did I give it to you? Yeah. That sounds right. You'll be a great Captain America.”

“No. You gave it to Sam, then Sam gave it to Riley, then he gave it to me. For sentimental reasons.”

“Riley?” Steve asks looking confused. “Sam's Riley from the war?”

“Forget I said anything,” Bucky says, weakly. “Wouldn't want to mess up the timeline. You'll figure it out.”

Steve runs his fingers through Bucky's hair, combing it into position. Bucky smiles. He's almost ready to see Natalia. There is so much he wants to say to Steve but realizes he's already said it. Over the last 25 years of Steve's life, he learned so much. Bucky doubts he would have his own family if it hadn't been for Steve guidance and acceptance into his family. A memory wisps through his shattered mind. Sitting next to Steve's death bed, holding his oldest friends hand. The last thing Steve had before dying was, “I'll be there for you, Buck. A promise is a promise. Til the end of the line.”

“I should have known you'd be here,” Bucky whispers.

“A promise is a promise. It's alright, Buck. You can rest now,” Steve says softly, still stroking his hair.

“Til the end of the line.” Bucky smiles as he exhales his final breath. There is a feeling of falling which causes him to tense and fight the sensation.

“It's Ok. You're safe,” Steve whispers as he squeezes his hand. “I love you, brother.”

Bucky relinquishes himself to the sensation. He's in a tunnel, a vortex. Briefly, he wonders if this was what time travel was like. His life plays out around him. Steve and him playing stickball, his mother smiling down at him as he was tucked into bed, the proud look on his father's face when he first showed him his uniform. The War. Zola. Hydra. He must have flinched at these memories. He feels Steve squeeze his hand and gently “Ssh” him, just as Natalia had with their first child. He sees her pick up the infant from under the rubble and from that moment on they both knew their calling. They had adopted and fostered so many children over the years. He sees each of their faces. His grandchildren as well. For years those faces had eluded his damaged mind, but now he can see them all so vividly.

The tunnel begins to spin more slowly and Bucky knows the ride is coming to an end. There had been pain and sorrow, but that was more than outweighed by the joy. When times were tough, they had gotten through it together. He'd accomplished his mission. He'd had a life and what a great life it had been.

The tunnel stops spinning and there is a bright yellow light at the end. Three smiling figures come into focus. The first is Steve, not Captain America, but that little guy from Brooklyn who wouldn't back from a fight. Beside him is Peggy. Not the girl from The War, but the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is as beautiful as ever, even with the streaks of gray in her hair and slightly heavier stature.

Finally, he sees her. Natalia is spectacular in her black Avenger's uniform. Oddly, her radiant red hair has pale blond tips. He's never seen her wear her hair like that. He rushes over to greet them, surprised by the strength in his body. When he reaches her he wraps her in both arms. Surprised he steps back to look down at himself. His body is lean, not overly muscular but holding a wiry strength. He is wearing an Army uniform. Not his Commando attire, but the one he was wearing when he shipped out to Europe. Taking off his cap, he runs his hand through his short hair.

“Didn't I tell you. Bucky's always been obsessed with his hair,” Steve says as he wraps him in a hug. “Welcome home, Buck.”

Peggy gives him a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. “It's so good to see you, James. And I just want you to know if Steve had only told me.” She gives a stern glance to Steve. “I would have never authorized Zola's projects.”

“Don't blame Steve, Peg,” Bucky says with his eyes on Nat. “I would have never found my joy if I hadn't experience that sorrow.”

Then he had an armful of Natalia. “About damn time, Bucky Bear,” she whispers in Russian. He kisses her and somehow it feels like it has been an eternity and a millisecond since he's done so all at the same time.

When they finally part he asks, “Where are we?”

“Nowhere, Everywhere,” Natalia whispers.

Steve grasps him on the shoulder and says, “The end of the line, the beginning of the line.”

“Together,” Peggy says smiling. “That's all that really matters.”

Nat takes his left hand as they turn away from the tunnel. Waiting in the distance he sees more figures. His sniper's vision allows him to recognize some of them. Tony Stark, in the Iron Man armor he had been wearing when he sacrificed his life to save them all. Pepper is standing beside him. And Sam, graying but still fit of form. Just as he'd been when he had been elected President.

There off to the side are an elderly couple with two middle-aged women. Despite the differences in their appearance, he knows they are his parents and sisters. As Bucky strides over to greet them he is certain of where they are-Home.

The End (of the Line)

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally going to end with Natasha. Then I went to the gym and got all depressed thinking how Bucky would be there for Steve at the End of Line, but Bucky would be alone so added the ending. In case it wasn't clear, all the people in the "afterlife" are the best versions of their selves.
> 
> I really think returning the soul stone is the key to bringing Nat back to the MCU. It would be crazy to spent millions on a movie for it to be a "one and done" prequel.


End file.
